Commonwealth observers pull out of Kenya poll

The Commonwealth team out of election observers has pulled out of Kenya’s repeat presidential election scheduled for Thursday.

The Commonwealth, which had a 15-member team of observers led by former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama during the August 8th general election, cited rising tensions and the withdrawal of NASA leader Raila Odinga as the reasons for not participating in an observatory role on Thursday.

“Everybody cited security fears. They felt it is not safe to observe elections when electoral officials themselves have been targeted,” an official in one of the Commonwealth countries told theNation.